More on the “New” BCP

Again, I do not mean the new BCP that will be published by the Episcopal Church in the near future. I am speaking of the one published by Lancelot Andrewes Press in conjunction with English Orthodox Communications. The purpose of this particular rendition of the BCP is to conform the English liturgical tradition to Orthodox theology so that it may be used as a resource by Western Rite Orthodox Christians. Thus, there are some definite changes that have been made. Anyway, I thought I would write up this brief little review as an outsider from the traditions that contribute to this book. Long time readers will already know my biases upfront: 1. I think the English liturgical tradition really is the “Best of the West”; 2. I am a long time devotee to the 1928 BCP and King James Version of the Bible for my private devotional use;  3. I am fascinate with Orthodoxy in its many incarnations, but especially this notion of a Western Rite. (note: yes, I know some thin it is sheep stealing, and others see it as reverse Uniatism, but I like so “boo” to you all).

With that out of the way, let me get to it:

Appearance and Feel

The book is covered with a handsome, red, leather-like cover with gold crosses stamped on the cover. It looks and feels like a prayer book. Major plus. All the rubrics are in red, making them easy to find and follow. It is printed on thin paper, but it is not quite the Bible leaf of my favorite 28 BCP, and thus there is no guilding, giving it a slightly cheaper look, which I don’t like. The good news is that it is about the size of your average thin line Bible, so it is small enough to slip into a briefcase and carry with you, a major plus. All in all, a nice book, but as a bibliophile – especially of all things liturgical – I would like to see a slightly fancier edition.

Content

The book is divided in four major sections: The Daily Office; The Mass, or Divine Liturgy; The Sacraments and Pastoral Offices; Appendices.

The Daily Office section includes a general confession, Morning and Evening Prayer, OT Canticles, Orders from Prime, Sext and Compline (but no None), The Psalter (the Coverdale, thank God), Prayers, A Bidding Prayer, Family Prayer, An Office for Ash Wednesday and the Litany. It also includes an order for Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, placed right between Evening Prayer and Compline. I’ve only read through the offices, I’ve not actually prayed them devotionally, so it is hard to comment on how they would be long term as far as feel and rhythm. They read much like the traditional 1928 offices though, with some obvious Marian stuff slipped, things that your average Anglo-Catholic would probably introduce as a matter of personal piety anyway. I find it interesting that they chose not to include None, and I would like to see Benediction somewhere else, as most people wouldn’t use this on a daily basis.

The section on the mass includes the order of Mass, along with propers for the season and for the saints, and a ritual decalogue. Those familiar with the Anglican Missal will find this version of the mass extraordinarily similar, with some obvious Orthodox additions (the Creed sans Filioque, for example, or the prayer “Oh thy mystic supper…”).

The Pastoral Offices have Baptism and Confirmation (all rolled into one as is Orthodox practice); Penance; Reception of Converts; Matrimony; Churching of omen; Visitation of the Sick; Holy Communion outside of Mass (not sure why I was surprised to see this); Visitation of the Sick; Communion of the Sick; Anointing of the Sick; Litany for the Dying; Burial of the Dead; Burial of a Child.

Again, not much here that the typical BCP traditionalist would find surprising, with the exception of an office for the reception of converts, which I would think to be very necessary given the role that Western Orthodoxy plays in the US. It seems to fit the need of parishes and priests.

The Appendices include a Calendar; Daily Office Lectionary; Opening Sentences; Historic Eucharistic Canons; and Guides to the Mass and Daily Offices.

The Calendar is interesting in that it includes a number of post-schism Western saints, all of which are printed in italics. There is a blurb about asking permission before venerating any of these saints, again, an oddity due to the books design and use, and a potential weakness of a Western Rite in an Eastern Church. The Historic Eucharistic Canons include Coverdale’s translation of the Roman Canon (in Latin and English on facing pages); The first BCP Canon (1549); the 1928 American Canon; the 1929 Scottish Canon; the 1954 South African Canon; and the 1962 Canadian Canon. There are no instructions or guidelines for using any of these canons as an alternative to the one in the Mass, leaving me questioning why they are included.

Overall Impression

This will totally depend on your disposition towards the Western Rite. I personally find it a likable and usable book (in my case, more for private devotion). I can imagine it would work well in a Western Rite parish that followed English ceremonial. I think it lacks sufficient rubrics and instructions in some places, and would like to see it be a bit more clear about ceremonial expectation. I am not sure if there will be an accompanying edition of Ritual Notes or some other such guide in the future, but I think it would be helpful. I think the weaknesses of the book point to some of the current weaknesses of the Western Rite as it is being constructed in the US (how much do we keep? what do we have to add? can you really have English Orthodox ceremonial without having to use a pre-1054 rite, and then can that be considered a living rite of the church? etc etc).

I will say this: I like the book much, much more than its Roman cousin, The Book of Divine Worship. The BDW is so large as to be unwieldy, too big for either pew or personal use. Furthermore, the BCP avoids some of the more obvious cut and paste of the BDW, which is amplified by the BDW’s use of some pretty awful ICEL pieces. There is no attempt to provide more than one rite or more than one psalter. The Andrewes BCP accept traditional language as the norm, and – in my estimation – does a much better job respecting the English liturgical tradition than does the BDW.

So, is it worth $29.00 for any non-Western Rite person? Not really. I bought it because I have a book allowance and an obsession with liturgy, Anglicanism and Orthodoxy, so it works out. But if you are an Anglo-Catholic looking for a traditional language resource for prayer that includes Marian prayers and such, then it may be worth it. If you want to see more of the inside of the book, go here and view the pdf’s.

Some Thoughts on Synod Assembly

This past weekend the Southeastern Synod of the ELCA met in assembly. I am not one for meetings, so I generally have a sense of dread about attending these things. I am very much a guy who likes his routine, and does not like interruptions to said routine. On the bright side, I do always look forward to seeing friends and colleagues from around our synod that I often only see at assembly or other large synodical functions. So its not all bad.

Synod Restructuring

Several issues emerged at synod this year. Some were of clearly local concern, like synod restructuring. In the past we have had 14 conferences. This was reduced to 9. This also decreased the number of representatives to the synod council.  The argument for changing was that our conference structure wasn’t working according to the constitution. My reply was that most folks didn’t know what the constitution said about conferences. I don’t now about you all out there cyberspace, but I don’t sit around reading synod constitutions. Anyway, instead of giving the synod an opportunity to follow the current guidelines, they changed them, so that now we have giant conference. The conference I was in included just a few churches on the southside of Atlanta. Now it includes churches that stretch from Valdosta (near the Florida border) to Kennesaw (a suburb northwest of Atlanta). That is a difference of over 200 miles. One proposed conference in Mississippi would have seen a difference of more than 400 miles between its far flung churches. The logic is that we will be more serious about conference meetings because of the great distance we will have to travel. My thought is that this sounds cumbersome and will discourage long term activity among the individual churches. Only time will tell, of course. All I know is that I now have a meeting on the day of the Florida-LSU game, which doesn’t make me happy, as that is a big family day!

Bible Study

I am not going to say much here, other than the fact that the Bible study smacked of partisan politics. I sent out a tweet at one point that I felt as if I were at a Democratic caucus meeting. I hate politics and church mixing, and being told that being a Christian means feeling a certain way about political issues. This is part of the reason I left church in the first place, and I hate that it is creeping back in, just with a different political orientation.

Highlight of the Assembly

The highlight of the assembly was easily the powerful words of Pastor Gemechis Buba, a Lutheran pastor from Ethiopia. He bascially preached about mission, but had a line that stood out to me: salvation costs you nothing, but discipleship will cost you your life.

Get to the Sex Already

Naturally the big buzz all weekend was about where our synodical discussions regarding sexuality would go. In the past, the Southeastern Synod has tended to be fairly conservative on this issue, and I really thought that this year would be no different. I was wrong. The synod voted to memorialize to the Churchwide Assembly that the sexuality statement be approved, that the four recommendations on ministry policies be passed, and that those who have been denied ordination or removed from the roster have a means of appealing.

So here is my ambivalence: I don’t like the fact that the ministry policy recommendations are in essence a local option. I think passage of these recommendations will serve only to further divide the church into two separate camps. To an extent, it has been that way a long time. The difference now is that the split is essentially codified. We will have two expressions (pro-gay or pro-status quo) rather than three (local, synod, churchwide). It will bring about the worst in congregationalist government and tendencies, something we already have to fight in the ELCA. I see this as a desperate decision designed to make everyone happy that will ultimately make no one happy. Those in favor of gay clergy will accuse those churches that are opposed to gay/lesbian pastors of being discriminatory. Meanwhile, some of the more conservative churches on this issue will simply deny that they are truly in communion with churches that accept gay/lesbian pastors. It will be easy enough for those in East Tennessee and Savannah to look at churches in Atlanta or Nashville – which tend to be more liberal – as an anomaly, as not really part of them. This policy, if passed, will divide us as it has other denominations. We’ve already lost some churches and clergy (though not many). Be ready to lose more.

I really wish the Church had simply made a stand. If we have to vote on this stuff, I would like to see a straight up-down vote that would have said yea or nay to gay clergy and gay unions, and then a 10 year moratorium (regardless of results) before bringing it back up again. But they didn’t, and maybe that is ok.

So what does the future hold? I think passing these ministry recommendations is a slam dunk. I would be shocked – utterly shocked – if this didn’t pass at churchwide. I don’t think it will pass by much, but it will pass, and it will leave a lot of moderate churches and clergy really feeling the pinch of what to do.  I’ve spoken with several pastors who have expressed their concern. These are good pastors who want to faithfully serve, but for whatever reason feel they must draw their line here. I hope that all this talk of bound consciences and living together amonst disagreements is true and not just more church-ese. At the same time, I’ve also spoken with gay and lesbian members (and clergy) who have felt the pinch to stay closeted for years, and in this they see a little glimmer of hope.

Outreach Video: Grace Lutheran, Tulsa

Ok, a church that is missional and celebrates a high liturgy! Love this video!

Offerings from Augsburg Fortress

I tend to be a little behind the curve on things published by Augsburg Fortress, especially since it seems a plethora of ELW and related materials all flooded the market at a rate too fast for my book allowance to keep up. And the truth is, I have been amazingly underwhelmed by the ELW and its supporting materials.

I finally broke down and ordered the Pastoral Care book that is the first of a two volume set intended to replace the old Occasional Services book. Upon removing it from the box, I was impressed with the binding and the guilded, bible type pages. I am also quite happy with the contents I found. It is arranged is such a way that things are easy to locate, and there are prayers and readings for almost anything life can throw at a pastor.

I was most pleased with the section dealing with the death of children. Long time readers may recall that my wife and I went through back-to-back miscarriages a few years ago, and really found a lack of materials out there to provide us with the ritualized care and support we needed. While on internship, I performed my first baptism to a child who was born only to die an hour later. I wish I had access to this material then as well. I was so pleased to see a naming ritual, prayers for the parents after a miscarriage, after stillbirth, and during infancy. These prayers are crafted beautifully, and I am so glad that they are included.

The Pastoral Care book also contains several other occasional rites, such as blessing homes or other items, private confession and absolution, baptisms in emergency cases, and prayers and readings for almost any situation imaginable. Of the ELW family of material I have received so far, I am happiest with this little piece. I am sure it will be a companion for a long time on this pastoral journey.

With the good comes some bad. Well, maybe not bad, but a bit of ambivalence. AF has produced a “Lutheran” Study Bible, I guess with hopes of beating the LCMS to the market with their rendition of a bible with the same title. Anyway, I took some time to look at a copy and can’t really convince myself that I should buy it. It is a typical bulky study bible. I have lots of those. It is the NRSV, which one would expect, and I already have several of those as well. The question becomes this: as someone with a shelf full of NRSV study bibles, why in the world should I buy another? Do I really need one more taking up shelf space, when I know I will probably continue to use the Harper Collins or the NIB? I am just not sold.

I guess I could see using it in classes at the church, like when I teach Crossways/Disciple etc. It could be helpful for the laity. But again, it seems that there are bibles on the market that are better suited to them as well. I don’t mean to speak ill of it, but an initial examination just doesn’t convince me that it is worth the $35.00, though I am more than open to rebuttal if there are folks out there using it and finding it helpful.

RBOC: Getting Caught Up Edition

So it has been more than a month since I last posted anything. I’ve really done little more than lurk on other blogs (all of which seem to be slow these days) and mess around with Facebook. So what’s been going on, you ask? Here’s where my head has been:

• Church life has been crazy busy from the planning point of view. As I have mentioned before the mission church I serve is in a tough position insofar as there is little money coming in and we don’t have a permanent place to worship. So I have spent a great deal of time exploring these sorts of issues and how we can alleviate them. That not only takes a lot of actual time, but it is emotionally and spiritually draining, especially on a day like today when I had two “no’s” in places where I had been hopeful. I am trusting that God will show us the way.
• I have been spending a fair amount of my free time gardening. There are 16 tomato plants of different varieties, bell peppers, three kinds of hot peppers, okra, etc. I’ve also been mulching the hell out of the back yard. I hate mowing, my kid hates mowing, and I don’t see the point. If I could rip up the front yard and plant corn I would, but the HOA Nazis don’t look kindly on that sort of thing.
• I finally got around to watching Jesus Camp last night. For those of you who haven’t seen it, it is about kids who attend a Pentecostal summer camp. There is the run of the mill speaking in tongues, conservative politics, pro-life rhetoric, etc. There is a even a great scene of Ted Haggard preaching about the evils of homosexuality, and all I could think of was his meth fueled sexcapades with male prostitutes. Anyway, back to the film…I didn’t find it all that shocking or disturbing. It sounded pretty much like run of the mill Pentecostalism/Fundamentalism. I guess when you get healthy doses of that stuff growing up it doesn’t impact you the same way it might a white liberal Methodist from the Midwest who has lead a sheltered life.
• It has been strange to reconnect with my ex-in laws on facebook. These were people who were a big part of my life since high school until my first marriage ended a few years ago. I don’t think I had spoken to or heard from any of them since 2002 or 2003. It is bittersweet in a way…
• Synod Assembly is around the corner, and I am sure our Lutheran obsession with how people have sex will be front and center. My favorite term that is always brought to the fore is “practicing homosexual.” I’ll not do schtick about this term, but it does make gay people sound more serious and committed to their sexual expression than straight people, if they are practicing so much. What a stupid term.
• Was looking over synod assembly materials, and found resolutions on hate crimes, bullying in schools, sexuality and the like, but nothing about funding missions either at home or abroad, or doing leadership development, or anything else remotely missional. Great Commission Synod? Really???
• I have several books to read in the next three weeks for my summer D.Min. seminar. Should be interesting.
• The wife is on the dying throes of her Ed.D. Dissertation should be done and defended in August.
• Is it wrong to want to shoot the birds landing in my garden and eating my plants? Isn’t that what pellet rifles were made for?
• Back to church stuff: I am really fatigued.It is tough trying to always be the positive one. It is tough to get people to make forward motion when they are equally fatigued from years of setbacks. I had a consultant tell me the other day that it is so much easier to start a mission from scratch than to take one that has suffered numerous set backs and turn it around. I have not done a from scratch start before, but I think I agree.
• The truth is, the way the ELCA does mission development and re-development is so counter-intuitive and so against best practices that it is amazing to me that any ELCA churches are getting chartered. There are individual congregations out there that are planting more churches than the entire EOCM and are more successful in getting those churches to be self-sustaining. They then expect those new churches to start other churches before they even build a campus. Self-multiplying churches…feels like a pipe dream right now.
• Here’s what I think it all boils down to: we are so damn scared to look beyond our own tribal borders to see the methods that other Protestants are using for fear that their theology might somehow taint the pristine message of Lutheranism, which is total BS. Why do we find it so strange to say that we have a heart for those people who have not heard the Gospel? Why do we find it so strange to say that our mission is to bring that message of grace to those who have never heard? Is it so bad to say that we want to see evangelism that has adults lining up at the font to receive the sacrament of Holy Baptism? All of that sounds perfectly Lutheran and evangelical to me!
• In spite of fear of drawing EOCM/ELCA ire (and in spite of the fact that someone somewhere will say I am racist), we are too caught up in ethnic specific evangelism approaches that are little more than rehashing the way Lutherans used to wait at the docks for Germans, Norwegians, Finns and Swedes, only now we line up to wait for African nationals that are already Christians, hoping they can help prop up our dying institutional church. Guess what…those folks are starting to send missionaries to US because we have become so focused on church as organization that we have lost sight of church as the harbinger of Good News.
• Ok, now I am just rambling and complaining. My apologies.

To the Orthodox Faithful…

…a blessed Pascha!

Christ is Risen!

May we one day be able to witness to the fullness of the Christian faith by not celebrating this blessed event on different days.

A Nice Look…

…at a traditional Lutheran Easter Divine Service is available here. A nicely done ad orientem celebration. The audio is a little out of sync, but you get the picture.

Chant Video

A great video about the beauty of Gregorian chant.

Hat tip to TNLM.

Christos Anesti!

Christ is Risen, and you, o death, are annihilated!
Christ is Risen, and the evil ones are cast down!
Christ is Risen, and the angels rejoice!
Christ is Risen, and life is liberated!
Christ is Risen, and the tomb is emptied of its dead;
for Christ having risen from the dead,
is become the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep.

To Him be Glory and Power forever and ever. Amen!

Easter Vigil

Rejoice, heavenly powers! Sing, choirs of angels!
Exult, all creation around God’s throne!
Jesus Christ, our King, is risen!
Sound the trumpet of salvation!

Rejoice, O earth, in shining splendor,
radiant in the brightness of your King!
Christ has conquered! Glory fills you!
Darkness vanishes for ever!

Rejoice, O Mother Church! Exult in glory!
The risen Savior shines upon you!
Let this place resound with joy,
echoing the mighty song of all God’s people!

My dearest friends,
standing with me in this holy light,
join me in asking God for mercy,

that he may give his unworthy minister
grace to sing his Easter praises.

Deacon: The Lord be with you.
People: And also with you.
Deacon: Lift up your hearts.
People: We lift them up to the Lord.
Deacon: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
People: It is right to give him thanks and praise.

It is truly right
that with full hearts and minds and voices
we should praise the unseen God, the all-powerful Father,
and his only Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

For Christ has ransomed us with his blood,
and paid for us the price of Adam’s sin to our eternal Father!

This is our passover feast,
when Christ, the true Lamb, is slain,
whose blood consecrates the homes of all believers.

This is the night
when first you saved our fathers:
you freed the people of Israel from their slavery
and led them dry-shod through the sea.

This is the night
when the pillar of fire destroyed the darkness of sin!

This is the night
when Christians everywhere,
washed clean of sin and freed from all defilement,
are restored to grace and grow together in holiness.

This is the night
when Jesus Christ broke the chains of death
and rose triumphant from the grave.

What good would life have been to us,
had Christ not come as our Redeemer?
Father, how wonderful your care for us!
How boundless your merciful love!
To ransom a slave you gave away your Son.

O happy fault,
O necessary sin of Adam,
which gained for us so great a Redeemer!

Most blessed of all nights,
chosen by God to see Christ rising from the dead!

Of this night scripture says:
“The night will be as clear as day:
it will become my light, my joy.”

The power of this holy night dispels all evil,
washes guilt away, restores lost innocence,
brings mourners joy;
it casts out hatred, brings us peace,
and humbles earthly pride.

Night truly blessed when heaven is wedded to earth
and man is reconciled with God!

Therefore, heavenly Father,
in the joy of this night,
receive our evening sacrifice of praise,
your Church’s solemn offering.

Accept this Easter candle,
a flame divided but undimmed,
a pillar of fire that glows to the honor of God.

(For it is fed by the melting wax,
which the mother bee brought forth
to make this precious candle.)

Let it mingle with the lights of heaven
and continue bravely burning
to dispel the darkness of this night!

May the Morning Star which never sets
find this flame still burning:
Christ, that Morning Star,
who came back from the dead,
and shed his peaceful light on all mankind,
your Son, who lives and reigns for ever and ever.
Amen.